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Giger's multi-faceted career

From surrealistic dream landscapes, to album cover designs, and sculpture

For the last three decades H.R. Giger has reigned as one of the leading exponents of fantastic art. After he studied interior and industrial design for eight years at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich, Switzerland (1962-1970), he was soon gaining attention as an independent artist, with endeavors ranging from surrealistic dream landscapes created with a spray gun and stencils, to album cover designs for famous pop stars, and sculpture. In addition, Giger’s multi-faceted career includes designing two bars, located in Tokyo and Chur, as well as work on various film projects—his creation of the set design and title figure for Ridley Scott’s film Alien won him not only international fame but also an award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects (1980).

"The more famous I get, the more I am tolerated, albeit with some head-shaking."
—H.R. Giger

About the Series:Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:

a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance

a concise biography

approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

The artist:H.R. Giger (1940–2014) was a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer. He first received acclaim in the 1960s with his airbrushed fantasy landscapes, and rose to fame through high profile movie work, most notably as part of the team behind the visual effects in Alien, which won an Academy Award. H.R. Giger's album covers for Debbie Harry and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were voted as being among the top hundred in music history by music journalists, while furniture designed by Giger graces bars from Tokyo to Switzerland. H.R Giger was named in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013. H.R. Giger‘s many titles for TASCHEN include the Collector’s Edition Hologramm (1998), one of the first large format books TASCHEN ever published, as well as www HR Giger com, and HR Giger Arh+.

HR Giger Arh+

"There have been several collections of Giger’s work, and it can be difficult to know where to start to get a good primer. This is where HR Giger Arh+ comes in, serving as a great introduction to a wide range of works covering several decades."— Prometheusmovienews.com, United Kingdom